I have designed about 30 applications from Commodore 64, Amiga, BBC Arhcimedes, Windows 3.1, n64 through to Vista and Embedded deivces
1. Do you have a vision or not? And who is going to use it.
If you don't then use a committee method to design your UI. Say bye-bye to what you want.
1. If you do have a vision then get your needs/features down on paper 2. Define the platform/platforms you are planning your application to run on. (things like screen aspect, minimum/maximum resolution and input device are very important considerations. 3. Start to mock up designs and position the features you are planning 4. Start to create working mock-ups of key interface elements 5. Start to get feedback on the two or three ideas you have (try getting people to see the idea you like the best - explain why)
6. Do a prototype (even if it ends up as a commercial prototype) 7. Evaluate the issues people have and the way people use it. Create a new version if your prototype is unusable - otherwise let it grow as much as it can.
The argument is sound from a certain point. The top 30 games are all mostly sequels, sports, ports or franchise. It is the same in virtually all forms of entertainment. Books the top 30 are all Dan Brown, Stephen king, Clive Cussler etc. Movies, Batman, Star wars etc. Theatre is Cats, Lion King, Phantom of the opera etc. It is the easiest stuff to sell - the masses think they are being cultural (maybe they are !!!) There was just as much of this crap around on old consoles/computers (everyone remember publishers such as Ocean, Konami, Elite and such dire cash-ins as highlander, flash gordon and international soccer?) Some people say the old games are all in our memories and that once you play them the nostalgia ends. I think the point here is not the visual/audio representation but the underlying mechanics of gameplay. Many modern games have hundreds of meg of video/audio assets, modern AI, New controllers and yet still provide the same - sometime less actual interaction. I would argue that Paradroid on the c64 is more atmospheric and satisfying as a game than ratchet and clank. The other way - Resident Evil 4 is a significantly better game than Forbidden Forest. Faerie Tale on the Amiga contains aguably the same gameplay people playing Diablo get some 10 years later. Ghosts and Goblins was better than capcom's own remake in Maximo. Green Beret has more subtlety than ONI. Super Mario 64 is about the pinnacle of 3D adventure/action games - still. Most the Lara Croft games are better than the text games and old SCUMM games - but not really much better than Dynamite Dan (an old game - when they were still known as CORE).
The point - many new games hide the same gameplay elements in new graphics/sound. They might spread a simple premise over hours of gameplay (the new measurement) as opposed to size/speed/intensity of playfield (the old measurement). Some games are better for the treatment others are worse - like spreading one scoop of ice cream between 20 mates its fine if you don;t like ice cream, but if you do you'd better be good at killing people with an uzi.
The terms and conditions are a great bit of legalese - that no 14-17 year old would read let alone understand - If anything interesting comes out of this competition Microsoft may use it free of even the Moral Assertion of the author...
It is Microsoft trying their designs...through an "ANONYMOUS" (say it like "Laser Beam") leak. You are all falling for the big m's viral marketing campaign..
Our software www.viewbuild.com to me did not seem complex at all especially since i'd used it was being developed.
My first manual - 100 pages attempted to simply document the features - me figuring that everyone would understand the way the software was written and what was expected of the user. Bad mistake #1 - no one got any use out of it - except me who used it to learn.
My second manual 160 pages then attempted to document everything but show examples of the tools in action. The only people who understood it were trainers and some coders.
My third manual 216 pages was outsourced to a professional trainer. The problem was that it had to be done as 1 hour lessons - you couldn't just go to the index to find out how to build a two storey house. It was good for training sessions only, the general public found it particulary confusing.
My Fourth Manual 350 pages was a complete re-think after examining other manuals more closely. It was focussed on what people kept asking. How do I do this - How do I do that....In essence it was a description of the software and an indexed FAQ.
Another thing to consider is how the manual is put together. People loved my Ring Bounded Manual - because the pages sat flat. Unfortunately it did not look very professional so i experimentended and ended up with a landscape A5 perfect-bound format. As a final word - you are better leaving 3/4 of a blank page than running into a new chapter to save pages.
But i am biased because It is my company but also because i hate all the software out there that provides a stupid 2D cad interface.....this is the Noughties right? That is such a clunky way of doing things. Our viewbuild software has had over 6 years of refinement, tweaking and use so i'm not making the stuff up - We can build anything from a doghouse to multiple city blocks and be walking around it adding landscape or interiors quicker than it takes to read the license file on some of these CAD packages. Oh the other thing,,, it's cheap ! ViewBuild works in REAL TIME 3D not this ridiculous Floorplan mode with an uncontrollable view. Scans, Digital Camera images, DXF, 3DS files may all be loaded in.....And the faster your 3D card....the faster ViewBuild runs. And some of the plug-ins coming will rock your socks....."X" trees, Sprite trees (you know the ones that follow the camera and look stupid from top down/side on) They are about to be eliminated by the addtion of beautiful leafy trees that sway with the breeze....mmmmmm. House building/ design is not only about the walls and windows it is about being there and getting a sense of the space.
You haven't tried our 3D system. We translate the 3D to a 2 plane mode system. Which means it is much much faster than any other 3D modeller to work with
Coosing a balanced team in the first place is crucial
1. Team Leader...controls the bulk of the framework of the code 2. Maths Guru....handles all the abstract programming requirements...sqeezing the most out of every cycle 3. Interface.....handles all the GUI requirements (dialogs, windows, check boxes etc) 4. Project Manager....Ensures everything is on track, plays King Solomon and does all the other things such as communication to outside parties, testing, documentation and feedback.
Why not have an insertable module.....brushed aluminium if you want to go out doors (with the ability to turn the light off).....transparent insert (and light on) for indoors...
I completely agree....for all its portability I cant go and sit at a cafe and do my work..or go fishing....
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I have designed about 30 applications from Commodore 64, Amiga, BBC Arhcimedes, Windows 3.1, n64 through to Vista and Embedded deivces
1. Do you have a vision or not? And who is going to use it.
If you don't then use a committee method to design your UI. Say bye-bye to what you want.
1. If you do have a vision then get your needs/features down on paper
2. Define the platform/platforms you are planning your application to run on. (things like screen aspect, minimum/maximum resolution and input device are very important considerations.
3. Start to mock up designs and position the features you are planning
4. Start to create working mock-ups of key interface elements
5. Start to get feedback on the two or three ideas you have (try getting people to see the idea you like the best - explain why)
6. Do a prototype (even if it ends up as a commercial prototype)
7. Evaluate the issues people have and the way people use it. Create a new version if your prototype is unusable - otherwise let it grow as much as it can.
The argument is sound from a certain point. The top 30 games are all mostly sequels, sports, ports or franchise. It is the same in virtually all forms of entertainment. Books the top 30 are all Dan Brown, Stephen king, Clive Cussler etc. Movies, Batman, Star wars etc. Theatre is Cats, Lion King, Phantom of the opera etc. It is the easiest stuff to sell - the masses think they are being cultural (maybe they are !!!) There was just as much of this crap around on old consoles/computers (everyone remember publishers such as Ocean, Konami, Elite and such dire cash-ins as highlander, flash gordon and international soccer?) Some people say the old games are all in our memories and that once you play them the nostalgia ends. I think the point here is not the visual/audio representation but the underlying mechanics of gameplay. Many modern games have hundreds of meg of video/audio assets, modern AI, New controllers and yet still provide the same - sometime less actual interaction. I would argue that Paradroid on the c64 is more atmospheric and satisfying as a game than ratchet and clank. The other way - Resident Evil 4 is a significantly better game than Forbidden Forest. Faerie Tale on the Amiga contains aguably the same gameplay people playing Diablo get some 10 years later. Ghosts and Goblins was better than capcom's own remake in Maximo. Green Beret has more subtlety than ONI. Super Mario 64 is about the pinnacle of 3D adventure/action games - still. Most the Lara Croft games are better than the text games and old SCUMM games - but not really much better than Dynamite Dan (an old game - when they were still known as CORE).
The point - many new games hide the same gameplay elements in new graphics/sound. They might spread a simple premise over hours of gameplay (the new measurement) as opposed to size/speed/intensity of playfield (the old measurement). Some games are better for the treatment others are worse - like spreading one scoop of ice cream between 20 mates its fine if you don;t like ice cream, but if you do you'd better be good at killing people with an uzi.
I take my DS with me so I can play wherever/whenever I have lunch.
The terms and conditions are a great bit of legalese - that no 14-17 year old would read let alone understand - If anything interesting comes out of this competition Microsoft may use it free of even the Moral Assertion of the author...
Does that mean I'm allowed to circumvent game console lockouts and regional lockouts legally and produce my own content?
It is Microsoft trying their designs...through an "ANONYMOUS" (say it like "Laser Beam") leak. You are all falling for the big m's viral marketing campaign..
Our software www.viewbuild.com to me did not seem complex at all especially since i'd used it was being developed.
My first manual - 100 pages attempted to simply document the features - me figuring that everyone would understand the way the software was written and what was expected of the user. Bad mistake #1 - no one got any use out of it - except me who used it to learn.
My second manual 160 pages then attempted to document everything but show examples of the tools in action. The only people who understood it were trainers and some coders.
My third manual 216 pages was outsourced to a professional trainer. The problem was that it had to be done as 1 hour lessons - you couldn't just go to the index to find out how to build a two storey house. It was good for training sessions only, the general public found it particulary confusing.
My Fourth Manual 350 pages was a complete re-think after examining other manuals more closely. It was focussed on what people kept asking. How do I do this - How do I do that....In essence it was a description of the software and an indexed FAQ.
Another thing to consider is how the manual is put together. People loved my Ring Bounded Manual - because the pages sat flat. Unfortunately it did not look very professional so i experimentended and ended up with a landscape A5 perfect-bound format. As a final word - you are better leaving 3/4 of a blank page than running into a new chapter to save pages.
regards
But i am biased because It is my company but also because i hate all the software out there that provides a stupid 2D cad interface.....this is the Noughties right? That is such a clunky way of doing things. Our viewbuild software has had over 6 years of refinement, tweaking and use so i'm not making the stuff up - We can build anything from a doghouse to multiple city blocks and be walking around it adding landscape or interiors quicker than it takes to read the license file on some of these CAD packages. Oh the other thing,,, it's cheap ! ViewBuild works in REAL TIME 3D not this ridiculous Floorplan mode with an uncontrollable view. Scans, Digital Camera images, DXF, 3DS files may all be loaded in.....And the faster your 3D card....the faster ViewBuild runs. And some of the plug-ins coming will rock your socks....."X" trees, Sprite trees (you know the ones that follow the camera and look stupid from top down/side on) They are about to be eliminated by the addtion of beautiful leafy trees that sway with the breeze....mmmmmm. House building/ design is not only about the walls and windows it is about being there and getting a sense of the space.
You haven't tried our 3D system. We translate the 3D to a 2 plane mode system. Which means it is much much faster than any other 3D modeller to work with
Coosing a balanced team in the first place is crucial
1. Team Leader...controls the bulk of the framework of the code
2. Maths Guru....handles all the abstract programming requirements...sqeezing the most out of every cycle
3. Interface.....handles all the GUI requirements (dialogs, windows, check boxes etc)
4. Project Manager....Ensures everything is on track, plays King Solomon and does all the other things such as communication to outside parties, testing, documentation and feedback.
snester@viewbuild.com
Why not have an insertable module.....brushed aluminium if you want to go out doors (with the ability to turn the light off).....transparent insert (and light on) for indoors...
I completely agree....for all its portability I cant go and sit at a cafe and do my work..or go fishing....